The City Council Of Ashland, Oregon: Adopt moderate, practical, gun-safety ordinances

Oregon state law allows city governments to take action to curb gun violence by passing limited gun control ordinances. Many cities in Oregon, including Salem, Portland, Astoria, Tigard, Newport, Beaverton, Independence and Oregon City, already have local laws that prohibit openly carrying loaded guns in public places. Portland and Multnomah County each have an additional gun control ordinance that makes it a crime to endanger a child by allowing the child unauthorized access to a firearm. These very modest limits on firearms increase police departments’ ability to ensure public safety, decrease public alarm, and decrease the risk of gun violence in Oregon communities. Surprisingly, Ashland is not included among the Oregon cities with local gun control laws.

Citizens of Ashland are now coming together in the hopes of adding Ashland to the list of cities with sensible limits on firearms. We ask the City Council to adopt two laws based on the existing laws in other cities. Gun owners and non-gun owners alike can stand behind these common-sense safety measures!

A. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

1. FIREARM means a weapon, by whatever name known, which is designed to expel a projectile by the action of powder.

2. PUBLIC PLACE means a place to which the general public has access and includes, but is not limited to, hallways, lobbies and other parts of apartment houses and hotels not constituting rooms or apartments designed for actual residence, and highways, streets, schools, places of amusement, parks, playgrounds and premises used in connection with public passenger transportation.

B. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess or carry a firearm, in or upon a public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, recklessly having failed to remove all the ammunition from the firearm.

C. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess or carry a firearm and that firearm’s clip or magazine, in or upon a public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, recklessly having failed to remove all the ammunition from the clip or magazine.

D. The prohibitions of subsections (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to or affect:

1. A law enforcement officer in the performance of official duty.

2. A member of the military in the performance of official duty.

3. A person licensed to carry a concealed handgun.

4. A person authorized to possess a loaded firearm while in or on a public building or court facility under ORS 166.370 (Possession of firearm or dangerous weapon in public building or court facility).

5. An employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, acting within the scope of employment, who possesses a loaded firearm in the course of the lawful taking of wildlife.

6. A government employee authorized or required by his or her employment or office to carry firearms.

7. A person conducting an athletic contest who fires blank ammunition in a plugged firearm toward the sky.

8. A person authorized by permit of the chief of police to discharge blank ammunition or a weapon for a lawful purpose (e.g. ceremony).

9. A person discharging a firearm or weapon on a licensed public or private shooting range, shooting gallery or other approved area designed or built for the purpose of target shooting, when such person is a member or guest of said range or area.

E. It is unlawful for any person who knowingly possesses a firearm, clip or magazine in or upon a public place, or while in a vehicle in a public place, to refuse to permit a peace officer to inspect that firearm, clip or magazine after the peace officer has identified himself or herself as such, unless the person who knowingly possesses the firearm, clip or magazine immediately provides the peace officer with verifiable documentation that the person is not subject to this section under one of the exceptions described above in subsection (D).

F. Violation of any portion of subsections (B) (C) or (E) is a Class A misdemeanor.

Here is the suggested text of the second proposed ordinance:

ORDINANCE NO. _______, ENDANGERING A CHILD BY ALLOWING ACCESS TO A FIREARM

A. DEFINITION. For purposes of this section, the following definition applies:

1. FIREARM means a weapon, by whatever name known, which is designed to expel a projectile by the action of powder.

B. A person commits the offense of endangering a child if a person fails to prevent access to a loaded or unloaded firearm by a minor without the permission of the person, a parent or guardian, when the person knew or reasonably should have known that a minor could gain access to the firearm.

C. Violation of subsection (B) is a Class A misdemeanor.

D. DEFENSES. This section shall not apply if any one of the following circumstances exists:

1. The minor obtains the firearm as a result of an illegal entry into any premises under the person’s custody or control

2. The firearm is kept in a locked container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure from entry by the minor.

3. The firearm is locked with a device that has rendered the firearm inoperable and is designed to prevent minors and unauthorized users from firing the firearm. The device may be installed on the firearm, be incorporated into the design of the firearm, or prevent access to the firearm.

Please show the city council your support for these measures by signing this petition today!

Letter to

City CouncilorCarol Voisin

City CouncilorGreg Lemhouse

City CouncilorDennis Slattery

and 4 others

City CouncilorRich Rosenthal

City CouncilorPam Marsh

MayorJohn Stromberg

City CouncilorMike Morris

Oregon state law allows city governments to take action to curb gun violence by passing limited gun control ordinances. Many cities in Oregon, including Salem, Portland, Astoria, Tigard, Newport, Beaverton, Independence and Oregon City, already have local laws that prohibit openly carrying loaded guns in public places. Portland and Multnomah County each have an additional gun control ordinance that makes it a crime to endanger a child by allowing the child unauthorized access to a firearm. These very modest limits on firearms increase police departments’ ability to ensure public safety, decrease public alarm, and decrease the risk of gun violence in Oregon communities. Surprisingly, Ashland is not included among the Oregon cities with local gun control laws.

Citizens of Ashland are now coming together in the hopes of adding Ashland to the list of cities with sensible controls on firearms. We ask the City Council to adopt two laws based on the existing laws in other cities.

The new laws would:• Prohibit open carrying of loaded firearms in public places• Allow police officers to inspect openly carried weapons to ensure they are unloaded• Require gun owners to store their guns in a manner that prevents children from obtaining unauthorized access to guns

Both proposed laws provide moderate, practical control over the care and use of firearms within Ashland, without exceeding the city’s limited regulatory authority. Gun owners and non-gun owners alike can get behind these measures to improve public safety.

The proposed text of these suggested ordinances may be found at the Change.org online petition for this issue.

Please support our efforts to keep Ashland a safe community, and take all action within your power to bring about the adoption of these ordinances. Thank you for your public service!